Jurassic Park III: DNA Factor

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The dinosaurs hit the Game Boy Advance in their first of three titles from Konami. This one's a dud.

By Craig Harris

The early buzz revolving around the Jurassic Park III film isn't exactly favorable -- the movie has just opened in theaters as of this writing, and the early word is that the movie is a dud. I've gone through the first licensed Game Boy Advance title based on the flick without seeing the adventure it's based on, and my feeling for this game is mutual as the reviews for the film. Jurassic Park III: DNA Factor, Konami's first take on the Universal license for the GBA is not so good -- it's barely average for what's expected on the new handheld.

Features

Two gameplay modes

More than 12 levels

10 species of dinosaur

Battery back-up (three slots)

Only for Game Boy Advance

Keep in mind that this game is only based around the idea of Jurassic Park -- the plot in Jurassic Park III: DNA Factor is completely separate from the story in the theatrical Jurassic Park III. In the game, you play as either a professional photographer or an ace pilot -- it's basically just a choice between a male or female persona, both with essentially the same abilities and levels. The task is to run through side-scrolling levels, avoiding or incapacitating dinosaurs, all the while gathering DNA samples scattered throughout the land. Levels are laid out so that the player sprite can move on two different paths...the foreground or background. And by pushing up or down at certain locations you can switch between the two to access platforms, DNA samples, and power-ups that would be out of reach on the other path. When enough samples are collected and you reach the end of the level, a DNA capsule will appear to end the level. After each round, you'll enter a mini-game to put the DNA samples to use in order to form real dinosaurs out of them.

The Jurassic Park license has so much potential as a video game, but many companies struggle with the idea in order to make it work on game systems. DNA Factor is just sloppy game design. The platformer, DNA Factor's main section, is clumsily controlled and sloppily drawn. It's never made clear where you can change paths in this sidescroller, as the artwork lacks the necessary depth to portray the semi-3D perspective. It's extremely difficult to recognize which hazardous dinosaurs are on the upper or lower path, since the designers don't shrink the sprites when they're in the background path. Nothing casts a shadow, so you can't even tell if a DNA sample is hovering over the foreground path or lying on the ground on the background path. And while your character has the ability to grab onto ledges, some ledges cannot be gripped for no apparent reason other than to make the game more difficult...and thus more frustrating than it should.

And the game's got a ton of elements that are thrown in just to make the game more difficult, but in turn make the game clumsy and annoying. For example, you only get one life -- so when you die instantly at the boss levels, you're forced to play through the entire round just to get back to the point where you last died. Collision detection is purposely wonky to make you perform "leaps of death" near ledges, as some pick-ups can't be snagged unless you're right on top of them.

The intermission mini-game is about as simple as they get, and kind of silly -- it's a cross between Galaga and Space Invaders, where the task is to shoot your earned particles of DNA at the dinosaur strand, filling in the necessary gaps. If you miss too many times, you'll have to run through the level again to re-collect the DNA samples. This minigame doesn't make sense early on since it's so slow and easy to do...but in later levels it's actually a challenge as the strand is protected by randomly floating cells that will block your shots. This mini-game is neither great nor terrible, but it doesn't really improve this lacking action game in any form.

Where the in-game artwork is lackluster, the intermission and menu system art and animation is top-notch and very detailed, with rendered cut-scenes and high-color maps. The music and sound effects are equally impressive, using the GBA's sound capability to a decent extent with digitized audio of dinosaur growls, snarls, and roars. It's as if the game elements were handled by two completely separate teams with different views of quality.

Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor

Can you make it all the way across the Isla Soma without meeting your demise at the hands (or claws) of a giant, scaly beast? You'll journey through the depths of the jungle jumping ravines, seeking out laboratories, and avoiding enormous dinosaurs. Based loosely on the motion picture JURASSIC PARK III, the game challenges you to collect and use DNA cells to put an end to the prehistoric terror. With 10 species of dinosaur in the mix, the JURASSIC PARK III: The DNA Factor is sure to be a roaring good time.

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The Verdict

Whether or not the film version of Jurassic Park III is any good, I'll still think the JP license is a strong one for videogames. DNA Factor, though, is a pretty lame design and feels rushed through development to make the film's debut. It's definitely a challenge to get through, but the clumsy controls, the off-and-on collision detection, and the poorly-drawn game perspective is enough to make the game more frustrating than fun. Konami's got three JP games for GBA in 2001. Strike one.